6th Rugby Sevens World Cup - Everything Thread (IC)

[Kriegiersien]

The Roaring Rugby Rowdies

Your truthful source for All Rugby

6th Rugby Sevens World Cup

Kriegiersien 24–12 Queenisa

An important and needed victory against Queensia, now Hebtiaka awaits. A must win if they want to preserve a chance to reach the quarter-final, but Kriegiersien is the underdog. For today, let us go back to the beginning.

Rugby in Kriegiersien – What was first? Kriegiersien or the egg?



Sport was always important in Kriegiersien and first predecessors of rugby were played already in ancient times.

Killerball, Scorpionball and Blood Bowling were sports similar to what later would become rugby and other sports. It is unclear from where today's rugby came to Kriegiersien, some say from Lisander, others Ko-oren, Hebtiaka, Maxtopia or the Star Gods.
Anyway, there was no real league system and no deeper understanding of the sport and Kriegiersien rugby was played differently as in the rest of the world for a long time.
Like in most sports at the time the most professional players came from the military, were the academies and army groups played it on highest levels and crowned champions.

Only when Kriegiesien started to participate in international tournaments the rules of Rugby League, Rugby Union and Rugby Seven were fully adapted. Rugby 7, as Olympic sport, most promoted by the state, while the others become more and more sponsored by companies. Still, many players switched between the three ‘versions’ and there was no clear favourite. Even the Kriegiersien Rugby system still had and has its fans.

The wild amateur level is still big in Rugby, together with Scorpion Ball and Soccer the most beloved sport of the nation, but professional rugby leagues emerged and became a hard competition to the military leagues.
The gap between the commercialised sport, the state funded military teams and the amateurs who dream of the good old days grows stronger.

Greatest success of the nation was the triumph at the XIII Olympics in Republica in Rugby seven, the only title in Rugby for a Kriegiersien team, that couldn’t be repeated.

Damian Druid was the captain of this golden squad, now getting old and on his way to retirement.
“I would have ended my career years ago, but there is not enough talent following. Sad thing for such a rugby nation. With so much wasted potential”, he told us.

We will see how far Kriegiersien comes with this old team at this world cup and what the future will bring.

[Abanhfleft]

DISCLAIMER: Gaelic Gamers is an independent sports blogging website created by four cousins with a common liking and passion for sports of all kinds and is in no way or form affiliated with or organized by any official news organization in the Democratic Republic of Abanhfleft. All statements and opinions posted here are our own and not anyone else's.

---

Gaelic Gamers
Presents...

The Rugby Rundown (Sevens Edition!)
with Graham O'Doherty

6TH RUGBY SEVENS WORLD CUP: MATCH FOUR

Hello guys, and welcome back to another edition of The Rugby Rundown Sevens Edition with me, your gay Irishman Graham O'Doherty. Well, well, well. What a day the last one has been. Action-packed, full of ups and downs and twists and turns. What more can you ask from a Rugby Sevens World Cup? Grearia and Forsho truly has delivered, even if there was some good rain at the end of the day. But then again who doesn't like watching big muscular sweaty men slamming into each other in the mud? Just me? Okay then...

We've been witness to two out of a possible five games for the Revolutionaries of Abanhfleft, and so far what I've seen of them has been good. This definitely appears to be a side that has forgotten about the disappointment of both the preceding Rugby Sevens World Cup as well as the heartbreaking loss in the Trophy Final to Lisander in the Coff's 7s in Northwest Kalactin. All these lads are focused on now is winning the next game in Forsho, and then winning the next game, and then winning the game after that. It all looks like a foolproof plan from the outside, doesn't it? But let's all not forget: this is Abanhfleft. There are still plenty of things that can happen to scupper our attempts to fight for the Trophy, or whatever it is that they decide to call the top prize in this World Cup.

But enough of the faffing about. Time for the first Abanhfleft match of the day, which just so happens to be against Pratapgadh. I seem to remember having faced Pratapgadh in the three codes a fair few times already, so this matchup is very much nothing new to our boys. Pratapgadh are a handful when they're hitting on all cylinders. Sadly, in this morning game, Pratapgadh weren't really hitting on all cylinders. Sure, they managed to get away with letting a few easy tries get past them when Marouane Mahout was uncharacteristically off the mark for both conversions, and our opponents were even able to shave the deficit to only three points after the scored a converted try of their own through Sampat Asthana. Those first few minutes of the first half, Pratapgadh were somehow really competitive despite having given up two tries. And then Mahout finally got his shooting boots back on and the rest, as they say, is history.

Ken Greathouse joins Markos Iordanou in that very short list of Abanhfleft players who have scored more than one try in a single game in this World Cup. And, if you look at the man himself, you'll probably wonder why this has only happened now. Man's built like a brick shithouse, if you'll pardon my French. That is the kind of rugger player whom you expect to just bulldoze through a line of other rugger players who may or may not be built similarly to him. Plus, he got that fat Norse god look thing going for him, what with those curly long blonde locks of his and that thick beard. Thank goodness he jumped ship from Bytuch Feld to Haranguer when he did, or else he would have been reduced to plying his trade in the Fleftic Rugby Championship because of those Rugby Coalition-RUCT shenanigans. Sure, he probably wouldn't have spent more than a season in the second tier but, you know, it just seems like such a waste had that happened. Like I said, good thing it didn't, so now we're seeing what Greathouse can do at the international stage representing the blue, orange and green. Who knows, maybe his performances here could get him called up to the union side as well. What? A fan can dream, right? XOXO from Graham....

Abanhfleft (31)
Try: Partridge 1' m
Greathouse 4' m, 6' c
Iordanou 7' c
Schmoll 10' c
Con: Mahout (2/4)
Reid (1/1)

Pratapgadh (7)
Try: Asthana 5' c
Con: Pendharkar (1/1)

[Arjunnagar]

This the first time that Arjunnagar will be participating in the Rugby Sevens World Cup.As a country dedicated to its' citizens welfare in its stunning environment, it does not really take part In a lot of competitions.Rugby is somewhat popular In the island country of arjunnagar, located in the region known as Jurassic world 2015, where dinosaurs thrive and live. It is composed of around 3,500 islands, with 5 large ones.It took part in the competition because it wanted some action....

Name of nation:The Kingdom of Arjunnagar
Nickname:Raptors
Managar:Demetrik Klaassen
Head Coach:Frank Kumar
:Squad:

Starting Seven:

Prop-Kaanesch van udaanbakaart
Hooker-Ven Widende
Prop-Tim Peters
Scrum Half-Vaalik Abdullah
Fly Half-Mezho dijk Rakorjod
Centre-Zhiko Zyanekentrov
Wing-Myahindu van Beeraduir




Replacements
Prop-Wakijd daan wadunaassen
Scrum Half-Bakov voorjeerk Hollung
Fly Half-Ting Gurung
Centre-Dakaraat Viseitung
Wing-Tim Pieters

[Elejamie]

Day two then. Coach Kevin was feeling a bit more optimistic about this one. After getting a well-earned win against Darmen, you'd expect Bollonich to be even less of a hassle, right? Enough that being more relaxed rather than their usual self would still nab them a win? Wrong. They instead won 19-15. The weather might not have helped much but even so you'd expect them to put in a bit more effort. Toda especially since none of his conversion attempts were successful, despite him actually scoring a try shortly after the start of the second half. Two were angles that he couldn't work with, the other one was but it still went wide. Kevin admitted responsibility but, even so, any chances of him getting the full-time job were still up in the air and this would probably be used against his favour.

As such, he had made a couple of changes to his squad heading into the match against the United States of Devonta. A team that only really serves as stats to add rather than a team to watch out for but Kevin wanted to take no chances. Ruiz was on the bench, Cinorim was starting. Toda was on the bench, Crespin was starting. And there was a swap of Adams as McCracken was being taken off for Gates. A more attacking-defending plan was also used to try and minimise as many attempts of them scoring as possible, with them alternating between the two depending on whose half of the pitch they were in. They also decided to use a short passing tactic to give the opposition as few chances to intercept as possible. A plan that sounded good on paper but will it work in action? Let's see.

The time was about 11:33am, the last group match for Pool C that morning. There was one more game scheduled for that morning, even if it would lead into lunchtime, so it wasn't THE last match of the morning. Regardless, they wanted to show how they were willing to prove that defeat was a fluke and how they weren't ever going to go down that easily. Especially against a team that so far hadn't won a single game so far this tournament; they had only managed an opening 22-22 draw against newcomers San Ortelio who were still looking exceptionally strong before going down 50-0 to a Darmen team who were licking their wounds following their defeat to Elejamie and a much more narrow 19-17 defeat to a still surprisingly strong Bollonich team.

When it reached the exact second for it to start, the referee blew the whistle and there was kick-off. Crespin gave the ball an almighty boot, where it sailed through the air and was caught by a Devontan player. They began their attack and made it into the Elejamian half where they met some heavy resistance. Tackles, blocks and interceptions galore as one side wanted to make it hell for their opponents whereas the other wanted to just simply score a try. Whenever a Devontan player tried to get close to the Elejamian 22, he would be pinned down and a teammate would have to come along and rescue the ball just so they could carry on with their attack. Hard work and perseverance paid off for one team, however, albeit not for the "right" one as Devonta ended up scoring a try a few seconds before the 1:30 mark. 5-0 already.

That was not what Kevin wanted to happen. After facepalming as the Devontan fly-half made his easy conversion, he sat back up straight and carried on watching the match. Fortunately, there was still plenty of time left in the half so they could easily get a try. And that's what happened when about a minute later Koppel intercepted a pass from a Devontan player and just simply sprinted up the pitch to ground the ball past their try-line. He was clearly out of breath and fell over when he put it on the ground but he did it in such a way that he still had a hand on it when it hit the ground. After spending a few seconds trying to get his breath back before being dragged off by a team-mate, Tim Crespin easily nailed the extra points when it sailed cleanly through the air and just missed making contact with one of the uprights. He would show off his kicking prowess a couple of moments later when he scored a clean penalty from 32m out that was in front of the posts and, a minute after that, he'd score a second penalty from 35m out (albeit at an angle). All of this meant that Elejamie were leading 13-7 going into half-time. A bit of a narrow lead but anything could happen in that second half.

And indeed it did. As Koppel was still a bit tired from his amazing feat, he was susbsituted for Patrick Hayden. Whether he'll be rested for their next game will remain up in the air but, either way, he also showed quite a bit of promise in this match much like he did in the opener against Darmen. While he wasn't exactly man of the match, an honour that actually went to Tim Crespin, he still was a very valuable player. He was very punishing to the Devontan offence as he helped block and intercept any attempt they made to score another try. He was very quick with the ball and very direct with his passing, which helped set up plenty of chances. And he even scored a try for his side so the scoreboard could be aware of his skills.

But he wasn't the only one who put in plenty of hard work. In fact, everyone else was able to keep a high amount of pressure on the Devontan oppoosition regardless of which side of the pitch they were on. Even when they were defending they still had to contend with a good amount of people in green and black shirts around them. Couple that with their calm, methodical temparements and swift, short passing and it was absolute hell for the opposition. The closest Devonta came to scoring a try was when they were just in the Elejamian 22 before they were caught up in a ruck and lost possession, which lead to an Elejamian counter-attack that could've been successful had it not been knocked into touch. They did get a penalty but the kick appeared to have been flubbed as it just bounced off the posts and into touch. On the other hand, Elejamie were much more successful with their attempts at putting points on the board. While Crespin's third attempt at a penalty sailed wide of the posts, Gates scored the second try of the match right between the posts in the 9th minute, Kramer scored try number three in the 11th minute and Crespin scored his own aforementioned try in the 12th. All three were successfully converted.

Final score? 34-7. A respectable score but it didn't really lead to much of a push. They went up one spot but they're now in fourth place. Slap bang in the middle. Above them were Darmen, the undefeated San Ortelio and the Licentian Isles. Underneath them were Bollonich and the two winless teams, Devonta and Suimede. Indeed, Elejamie had the same record as Bollonich, two wins and a defeat, but the former was ahead of the latter on points difference, +33 compared to -2. Given that they're supposed to be one of the biggest sevens nations in the multiverse you'd expect them to do better. Let's just hope Coffs Harbour was just a massive slip-up and not a sign of things to come.

Anyway, who's up next? The Licentian Isles. They appear to be new but in reality they're actually quite a storied team with some history of successes but a lengthy period of inactivity means they've kind of slipped and as such are no longer ranked. That doesn't seem to have stopped them from being quite a force to be reckoned so far with as, at the moment, they're in third with two wins and two losses. The two defeats were against much more experienced sides, such as the 31-12 loss to Darmen and the 28-10 defeat at the hands of San Ortelio. But the two wins were against fairly reasonable teams, like their 22-14 defeat of Bollonich and a 24-12 win over Suimede to kick off their tournament, so Coach Kevin still wanted to take no chances. Either way, it'd be a hard-fought game that could go to either team, especially since it'll be in over an hour, so they had to just simply keep their head down and concentrate. It might be what they need to get a Cup stage spot, after all.

[Starblaydia]

This the first time that Arjunnagar will be participating in the Rugby Sevens World Cup...

Hi Arjunnagar, unfortunately you didn't sign up in the sign-up thread in time for this tournament, so cannot compete as the entries have already been finalised and groups drawn. Look out for the next Rugby World Cup or Sevens Cup and you'll be able to enter then. Look out for the signup threads of other sports you might be interested in in the meantime.

[Copper Cuprum]

DISCLAIMER: Gaelic Gamers is an independent sports blogging website created by four cousins with a common liking and passion for sports of all kinds and is in no way or form affiliated with or organized by any official news organization in the Democratic Republic of Abanhfleft. All statements and opinions posted here are our own and not anyone else's.

---

Gaelic Gamers
Presents...

The Rugby Rundown (Sevens Edition!)
with Graham O'Doherty

6TH RUGBY SEVENS WORLD CUP: COPPER CUPRUM DAY ONE

Hello guys, and welcome back to another edition of The Rugby Rundown Sevens Edition with me, your gay Irishman Graham O'Doherty. Are you surprised to see me covering our Copperite friends on The Rugby Rundown? If you're a new follower of Gaelic Gamers then you probably are surprised, but those who have been following this blog from the start (back when it was just me writing and my cousins didn't even know I was doing this) will know that I love to follow rugby all around the Coalition, but especially Copperite rugby. And it's no different with the sevens edition. This post right here is merely a recap of the first day of games played in the Rugby Sevens World Cup in Grearia, so if you want to see a more in-depth recap of each and every single Copperite game so far then here are links to the aforementioned posts. But if all you want is a quick recap of all three games played by the chicken killers so far, then feel free to continue reading.

Match One: Queenisa vs. Copper Cuprum

Queenisa (7)
Try: Young 14' c
Con: Young (1/1)

Copper Cuprum (31)
Try: Polema 1' c, 5' m
Kasugna 2' m, 8' c
Heyedy 6' c
Con: Honele (3/5)

Now this here first game's a fun one. Queenisa went into this tournament having only prepared for the World Cup of football qualifiers; hence their team is the same one as the one that plays football for them. Now you might think this one strange, but stranger things have played against both Copper Cuprum and Abanhfleft in rugby, among other sports. I mean, just one look at this squad of Queenisa's and you know that they probably don't know a thing about any of the three rugby codes. Them boys and girls were just standing around looking at the Copperites as they ran past them passing the strangely-shaped ball backwards with their hands, and it's no surprise that Copper Cuprum took an early lead that they never looked like relinquishing in the slightest. Some of those fellows from Queenisa do learn fast, and around the latter half of the second half, they were beginning to trouble the Copperites something fierce. That being said, that try that they did score seemed more accidental than anything else. But since Kim Young's chest was on the ball while it was on the ground inside the end zone, it counts as a try. But definitely this Queenisa team should stick to football.

Match Two: Copper Cuprum vs. Hebitaka

Copper Cuprum (26)
Try: Omega 2' c
Kasugna 4' c
Polema 7' m
Hizekte 8' c
Con: Honele (3/4)

Hebitaka (12)
Try: Choudhary 10' m
Marath 11' c
Con: Tatsuya (1/2)

The second game against Hebitaka was a welcome change of pace for the Copperites, mostly because their squad is actually an actual rugby sevens squad. Finally the Copperites got to play against an actual rugby sevens team! Never mind that they were the superior side against Hebitaka, the mere fact that their opponents actually knew how to play the sport that they were playing in was more than good enough for them. And you can see that they were actually having fun as well. The likes of Tabuta Isoka and Irakta Kasugna were really getting into the tackles because they know that their opponents are expecting it. An easy win in the end for the Copperites though, but made all the more sweeter because their opponents know how to play rugby as well.

Match Three: TJUN-ia vs. Copper Cuprum

TJUN-ia (21)
Try: Vakatawa 3' c, 11' c
van Oosteren 7' c
Con: Valbuena (3/3)

Copper Cuprum (19)
Try: Polema 1' c
Heyedy 5' c
Ismail 10' m
Con: Honele (2/3)

And now here we come to the heartbreaker. TJUN-ia have taken the multiversal sports scene by storm as soon as they arrived, and rugby sevens is no exception. That being said, Copper Cuprum still would have expected to be able to take the dub from the Jaguars, but at the very least this was going to be a tightly contested affair. And boy was it tight. Every time Copper Cuprum scores, TJUN-ia strikes back. Copper Cuprum scores a try, TJUN-ia scores a try. Copper Cuprum gets the conversion, TJUN-ia gets the conversion as well. This back and forth continued until the tenth minute, when Banunu Honele missed what should have been an easy conversion. Maybe it was the wind, maybe it was the grass, maybe it was the ground, maybe it was his foot. But the bottom line is that Honele missed what was supposed to be his third conversion of the day, and it ended up costing the Copperites because Kennedy Vakatawa and Jose Valbuena combined to score TJUN-ia's third converted try (Vakatawa for the try, Valbuena for the con) to give the Jaguars the two-point win. And that's your recap for day one of Copper Cuprum's journey through the 6th Rugby Sevens World Cup. Tomorrow I might be able to put up another such recap for day two. No promises though! XOXO from Graham....

[The Grearish Union]

Matchday 5

Round 5, Saturday
Sunny, 18°C at Seagull Cavern, Forsho

---

Pool A
Hannasean Federation 7–29 Barunia
Shreekaristan 14–40 Grearish Union
Sevendia 0–34 Lisander

  Pool A                     Pld   W  D  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Lisander                     5   5  0  0  182  43 +139  15
2 Hannasean Federation         5   2  1  2  102 111  −9   10
3 Sevendia                     4   2  1  1   72  81  −9    9
4 Quebec and Shingoryeo        4   2  0  2   97  90  +7    8
5 Barunia                      4   2  0  2   86  88  −2    8
6 Grearish Union               4   1  0  3   78 114 −36    6
7 Shreekaristan                4   0  0  4   45 135 −90    4

Pool B
Pratapgadh 35–7 Sannyamathland
Udmar 0–52 Abanhfleft
Darkmania 5–31 Nova Anglicana

  Pool B                     Pld   W  D  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana               5   5  0  0  152  36 +116  15
2 Abanhfleft                   4   4  0  0  141  31 +110  12
3 Pratapgadh                   5   2  0  3  118  92 +26    9
4 Darkmania                    4   2  0  2   85  79  +6    8
5 Alice Bay                    4   2  0  2   69  96 −27    8
6 Sannyamathland               4   0  0  4   36 116 −80    4
7 Udmar                        4   0  0  4   19 170 −151   4

Pool C
The Licentian Isles 7–31 Elejamie
Suimede 7–33 Bollonich
San Ortelio 38–14 Darmen

  Pool C                     Pld   W  D  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Darmen                       5   3  0  2  140  81 +59   11
2 San Ortelio                  4   3  1  0  112  67 +45   11
3 Elejamie                     4   3  0  1  104  47 +57   10
4 Bollonich                    4   3  0  1   85  61 +24   10
5 The Licentian Isles          5   2  0  3   75 116 −41    9
6 United States of Devonta     4   0  1  3   46 125 −79    5
7 Suimede                      4   0  0  4   47 112 −65    4

Pool D
Hebitaka 14–24 Kriegiersien
TJUN-ia 26–10 Commonwealth of Baker Park
Copper Cuprum 21–21 Placely Placington

  Pool D                     Pld   W  D  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 TJUN-ia                      4   3  0  1  106  64 +42   10
2 Kriegiersien                 4   3  0  1   98  66 +32   10
3 Hebitaka                     5   2  1  2  100 102  −2   10
4 Copper Cuprum                4   2  1  1   97  61 +36    9
5 Commonwealth of Baker Park   4   2  1  1   98  71 +27    9
6 Placely Placington           5   1  1  3   80 134 −54    8
7 Queenisa                     4   0  0  4   36 117 −81    4

[Bollonich]

Big 7s Win
The Bollonischian Rugby 7s squad suffered a setback with their loss against The Licentian Isles. However a comeback which was in order came against Suimede a team that had already lost their three other games. A victory against Suimede was thought to be routine for the Bollonischians and it was. The game was comfortably won by a huge margin of 33-7. This was Bollonich’s largest victory in the entire tournament and would serve as a method of confidence for the upcoming match against San Ortelio the 25th ranked team. The match against San Ortelio will be a crucial game and a win in which would greatly enhance Bollonich’s chances of a top two or top four finish. The match however won’t be easy as San Ortelio hasn’t lost a single game since the start of the competition and has been playing really well. The coach said the following words after the match:-

Suimede, no disrespect to them was an easy team a win over which was necessary for us to have good chances of qualification. But greater challenges lie ahead of us, namely the matches against San Ortelio and Darmen. Matches against these teams would be extremely hard, and a win would be highly beneficial but it is important to take one step at a time while in a major competition like this.

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

Zane Anthony: "Here on day 2 of our adventures in Grearia, I'm Zane Anthony
Ricky Gillingham: "I'm Ricky Gillingham, this is Lots of Ruck, the Commonwealth's number one rugby podcast."

ZA: "We've taken a break from watching the action here at the Seagull Cavern in Forsho in one of the nice club bars that are open for the weekend. Ricardo, compared to yesterday, a mixed performance from the side."
RG: "Coming into today, we knew this was going to be a step up in competition, but except for one area, the side looked really good in the morning fixture against Hebitaka."
ZA: "Missing two penalties meant a third straight win ended up as a 19 all disappointment for both teams really. Hebitaka certainly had to think a win would bolster their chances to get into the cup with Kriegiersien up next."
RG: "we went outside the stadium in search of lunch just before those two faced off, and it made the earlier match even more painful, as Krieg put them to the sword."
ZA: "TJUN-ia was up next just after 2pm, and I had a good feeling, as we'd beaten them in the AVBF."
RG: "They had just a bit too much class this time, as the hoops fell 26-10 for their first loss here. Next up is Copper Cuprum, ranked 4th and maybe the worst top 10 team we've watched so far."

ZA: "I don't even know what was going on with them against the Placely Places. We can hope they play as poorly as they did an hour ago, can't we?"
RG: "they will have the same short turnaround that we did yesterday, just an hour or so to get ready for their final action of the day."

ZA: "We'll be back tomorrow, once pool play has ended and the final day of competition gets into the elimination matches. Until then, Zane Anthony, Ricky Gillingham signing off for this edition of Lots of Ruck"

[Hannasea]

Match report in 7 sentences: The sun may have continued to shine at Seagull Cavern, but that just made the shadows all the more obvious for the Hamsters. Another miserable defeat at the hands of a higher ranked nation who didn’t even deign to inform the officials of their playing squad all but confirmed the Hamsters will miss the cup playoffs. Barunia’s anonymous players dominated with speed and precision passing, taking a quick 14 – 0 lead before Luke Ward replied. The second half saw three further nameless nobodies run in tries to seal the Hamsters’ fate. The shaken Hamsters could not come up with a single score in response. And things went from bad to worse with the loss of Jake Bergen to a broken nose that has ended his tournament; Alex Moore will fill in, but looked uncertain in the brief minutes he played against Barunia. The Hamsters’ final match against Quebec has become a must-win affair, but even then they will spend Day 3 watching other results determine their fate.

Match report in 7 words: Who the hell kicks penalties in sevens???

Match report in 7 letters: SETBACK

[San Ortelio]

“Daniele… It’s not getting better that way.”

Daniele Carcano ignored the pleas from Paolo Baffi and rubbed the prop’s thigh now as if he was kneading bread.

“Daniele…”
“It’s going to get better, we still have forty minutes before the game against Bollonich and…”
“Daniele…”
“It is going to be hard but maybe, if the score is favorable, we can rotate in Giorgio for the final few minutes so you get some extra recovery and…”
“Daniele.”

The sternness in the tone of Paolo dropped Daniele back into the here and now.

“I’m also worried about Marco and Ercole, Daniele. But you’re really hurting me.”

Only now Daniele realized his fingers were printed in red into the flesh of Baffi’s leg. But what was he to do? They had arrived here with no staff, no support, nothing, … And as good as things went on the pitch, as bad it was off it. Marco Vairetti had disappeared in the course of the opening day and by the morning after, Ercole Pagnin seemed nowhere to be found in the Hotel Etoile either. The baffling resume from Ercole the day before still brought shivers down Daniele’s spine – he had not mentioned it to anyone, they would think he was crazy.

But now they were another match further into the tournament and in the tail end of a perfect storm inflicted upon the Darmeni favorites, Paolo Baffi crashed into Sly Townsend. Neither of them intended to harm the other, but both limped off. With Baffi out, they would need to face their next opponent with a grand total of nine players. And god forbid if another one disappeared.

“It’s not getting better,” Daniele sighed, suddenly feeling downbeat, “it’s not going to happen. We’re just this close” and he holds his fingers almost against one another, “to qualifying and…”
“And nothing is said yet,” Baffi tried to uplift his captain. Usually he was a bit scared of him – Daniele rarely smiled or showed any emotion at all – so this was an awkward situation. He contemplated patting him on the back, but it would look foolish.
“It’s just so difficult, taking care of the games and then Marco went and Ercole said weird stuff about his death and now he’s gone and…”

Paolo looked left and right and eventually decided to go with a little pat. I mean, what’s to do when a man the size of a small van and ten years older is bawling his eyes out?

“There, there,” Paolo said, whilst looking for better words.
“And now we face Bollonich with one prop and…”
“There, there,” Paolo continued – he hadn’t found better ones yet.

A short silence.

“Did you just say that Ercole thought Marco was dead?”

Paolo’s hand froze in mid-air. Why on earth was a statement like that thrown somewhere in the middle of a waterfall of words?

“Not… Yeah, but not really…” Daniele sobbed and he explained his encounter the previous day [OOC – see previous RP].

“That’s… That’s way worse then our ‘the dude got drunk, you know Marco cannot handle his beer’ theory,” Paolo concluded, his eyes wide open. For being considered as a wise captain, Daniele was doing some dumb moves. “We need to get to the police right now.”
“But… What about the rugby?”

Paolo paused – he wanted to reply ‘it’s just rugby’. But then again, maybe it was best to act as if nothing was too off at the moment.

“I can’t play for us in the tournament like this – I’ll go to the cops but… You don’t happen to have a spare shirt from Marco lying around, wouldn’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well… You do know my brother Piero? Nineteen, larger than an icecream van? Well, he is over here to support us and… How many people would recognize Marco over here?”

---

His arms hurt a little but Ercole labored on. He hadn’t slept yet for two nights running but there was a voice in his head which said it had been necessary for him to connect the dots – at last.

Tonight he had been paining his brain, why would someone murder Marco Vairetti? The signs were there, all around him! But how could he solve it? A part of him wanted to sleep but as he sat down on his bed, the alarm clock woke him up – ironically.

00:06

Red and bright they shone to him. The last thing Marco had said to anyone, that he was gonna hit the town for a quick beer. An Omersk. In Forsho.

‘OMERSK’
‘FORSHO’

‘MURDER’
‘SEVENS’

This might be a rugby sevens tournament, but the number six was shimmering through it all along. So he could find him…

Ercole quickly ran out of his room, pushed the elevator buttons for the top floor of the Hotel Etoile… 1-six-0. Six. Of course. How could he have been so stupid? If Marco was somewhere, it had to be in the sixth city of this country, right? As he stood there, eight hundred meters above the ground, overlooking the horizon, the dim lights of Manta Island vibrated in the far distance. Forget rugby, he had to get to Colk.

That was last night – now it was already past five in the afternoon. The scorching sun started to lose a bit of its power, but Ercole ploughed on. He congratulated himself for reading the brochure which the Grearish had given, and remembering about the city sizes. But a bit of him wished he had minded the details about the Manta Sealink.

Oh well, Ercole thought, too late for that now and he labored on in his rowing boat. Besides, the coast was in sight now.

---

Jezus Christ, Marco Vairetti thought, why on earth did it feel as if a train was running through his head – first stop, Boozeville, second stop, Regret. A loud burp and the unmistakable smell of Omersk beer brought back memories. A bit like the madeleine cookie from Proust but also very much not like that.

They had taken down the Licentian Isles, the first victory of San Ortelio in a World Cup proper and for some reason, this called for a celebration. So he had a beer. And another one. And another one. Then it went hazy. Then he recalled another one. And then it went pitch-black.

With a swift gesture, he checked his watch – a family gift, an analog edition. A quarter past five? Had he hit the deck that early in the day already? Or Christ, was it night? Marco scrambled around, noticing a higher located window – the sun pierced in, almost painfully for his weary eyes. Ok, he would be back in time for the third group match against Suimede. But where on earth was he?

[Abanhfleft]

DISCLAIMER: Gaelic Gamers is an independent sports blogging website created by four cousins with a common liking and passion for sports of all kinds and is in no way or form affiliated with or organized by any official news organization in the Democratic Republic of Abanhfleft. All statements and opinions posted here are our own and not anyone else's.

---

Gaelic Gamers
Presents...

The Rugby Rundown (Sevens Edition!)
with Graham O'Doherty

6TH RUGBY SEVENS WORLD CUP: MATCH FIVE

Um, well now. Talk about an absolute demolition job. You cannot tell me that any one of us could have ever seen this coming. Hello guys, and welcome back to another edition of The Rugby Rundown Sevens Edition with me, your gay Irishman Graham O'Doherty. The 6th Rugby Sevens World Cup in Forsho continues on, and after a short break it's time Abanhfleft and company to get back in action. This time they're up against Udmar, a new nation that has barely even made a dent in this here World Cup, and judging by the look of things in that particular nation, they're just going to be another one of those which are going to be lost to the mists of time. But, in the meantime, they're still here, and so is their team. And we still have to play them.

Well, I say play, but for the whole fourteen minutes, I didn't really feel like Udmar were on the same pitch as our boys. I mean, of course physically the Udmar team was right there, but they might as well not be given how much they troubled the likes of Rupert Dearth and Markos Iordanou. Denzel Laxamana took a calculated risk by resting some of the big guns to give some of the new recruits, namely Horace Honeycutt III and Kurt Pamintuan, more playtime, and given how this game turned out it looks like he's done it again, he's done it again! Denny Lax, he's done it again! Sorry, that's the rowdy fan in me coming out. But it's true. Some things truly are just falling in place for Denny boy at the moment. Point in case, this absolute demolition of Udmar. I mean, for goodness' sake! They didn't even bother trying to fight back! At least when Queenisa played Copper Cuprum some of their players actually seemed to try to understand what was going on, and they were even able to get a try down in the end. Udmar... well, let's just say there was less of a fight happening here than in that "boxing" match between that twii.tur idiot and that FaceTube bloke who's clearly just in it for the money. Bleh! I watched that shit on an illegal streaming site just for shits and giggles and I still feel like I was robbed.

And I don't know if I should feel robbed as well with this result between Abanhfleft and Udmar. Truth be told, I really don't know what those blokes representing Udmar are doing out there. It certainly isn't rugby, that's for certain, for me at least. And Markos Iordanou got his first hat trick of tries, but given the quality of the opposition I'm not sure how he feels about that. If it was me I'd still be proud because it's still a freaking hat trick, but given how the opposition didn't even look like they were bothering to try to stop me doing it, I don't know. It feels like kind of a letdown. But Markos has got the hatty anyway, so that's that. Two more games left to play now, against Darkmania and the big one, Nova Anglicana. That one is sure to decide the fate of Pool B, at least if Darkmania don't throw a spanner in our works. But it's Abanhfleft. Anything can and will happen to us eventually. XOXO from Graham....

Udmar (0)
Try: N/A

Abanhfleft (52)
Try: Honeycutt III 1' c, 4' m
Pamintuan 3' c
Iordanou 3' c, 5' c, 9' c
Dearth 7' c
Votaw 8' m
Con: Mahout (4/5)
Reid (2/3)

[Kriegiersien]

The Roaring Rugby Rowdies

Your truthful source for All Rugby

6th Rugby Sevens World Cup

Hebitaka 14–24 Kriegiersien

What a triumph. Yukko Kiivraz jr. (not a junior anymore but still one of the youngest of the team) ended the match with a try, deciding it.
“It was maybe not the decisive action for the whole match, but for me it was important to score points. I have waited so long for this”, Yukko said, who is under the shadow of his father for a long time and maybe with the last chance to step out of it.


Now TJUN-ia is the next opponent in a fight for the quarter-final. No one in the group is safe. No one, except Queenisa, really out. Every match for the left teams a fight for the chance to reach the quarter-final.


Some fun legend before this, before the match.

When Kriegiersien was younger, King Calamaris, a King on an isle far away from the main Land one day gathered his people at the coast.

“I had a vision. It is my destiny to conquer the Islands of Peace. We will conquer TJUN-ia, the people there will follow us then to free Kriegiersien and throw the corrupt leader from its throne. Take down all the trees on the island, we will build the biggest fleet ever seen, leave this ghastly island and take what is our destiny!”

He then turned to the sea and a jaguar appeared out of it, a sword in his mouth. The king took it after having to wrestle it out of the mouth of the jaguar, who didn’t want to give up his plaything.
He hold it up high, while being bitten from the jaguar and the people shrugged and went to build the fleet.

The fleet set sail on the day of the Dragon and sunk two days later in a terrible storm.

Hopefully the Kriegiersien team has more success against TJUN-ia.

[The Grearish Union]

Matchday 6

Round 6, Saturday
Breezy and clear, 16°C at Seagull Cavern, Forsho

---

Pool A
Grearish Union 26–12 Sevendia
Barunia 26–14 Shreekaristan
Quebec and Shingoryeo 0–38 Hannasean Federation

  Pool A                     Pld   W  D  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Lisander                     5   5  0  0  182  43 +139  15
2 Hannasean Federation         6   3  1  2  140 111 +29   13
3 Barunia                      5   3  0  2  112 102 +10   11
4 Sevendia                     5   2  1  2   84 107 −23   10
5 Grearish Union               5   2  0  3  104 126 −22    9
6 Quebec and Shingoryeo        5   2  0  3   97 128 −31    9
7 Shreekaristan                5   0  0  5   59 161 −102   5

Pool B
Abanhfleft 31–7 Darkmania
Sannyamathland 36–0 Udmar
Alice Bay 10–29 Pratapgadh

  Pool B                     Pld   W  D  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Abanhfleft                   5   5  0  0  172  38 +134  15
2 Nova Anglicana               5   5  0  0  152  36 +116  15
3 Pratapgadh                   6   3  0  3  147 102 +45   12
4 Darkmania                    5   2  0  3   92 110 −18    9
5 Alice Bay                    5   2  0  3   79 125 −46    9
6 Sannyamathland               5   1  0  4   72 116 −44    7
7 Udmar                        5   0  0  5   19 206 −187   5

Pool C
Bollonich 26–17 San Ortelio
Elejamie 34–7 Suimede
United States of Devonta 14–26 The Licentian Isles

  Pool C                     Pld   W  D  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Elejamie                     5   4  0  1  138  54 +84   13
2 Bollonich                    5   4  0  1  111  78 +33   13
3 San Ortelio                  5   3  1  1  129  93 +36   12
4 The Licentian Isles          6   3  0  3  101 130 −29   12
5 Darmen                       5   3  0  2  140  81 +59   11
6 United States of Devonta     5   0  1  4   60 151 −91    6
7 Suimede                      5   0  0  5   54 146 −92    5

Pool D
Commonwealth of Baker Park 14–33 Copper Cuprum
Kriegiersien 19–31 TJUN-ia
Queenisa 33–19 Hebitaka

  Pool D                     Pld   W  D  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 TJUN-ia                      5   4  0  1  137  83 +54   13
2 Copper Cuprum                5   3  1  1  130  75 +55   12
3 Kriegiersien                 5   3  0  2  117  97 +20   11
4 Hebitaka                     6   2  1  3  119 135 −16   11
5 Commonwealth of Baker Park   5   2  1  2  112 104  +8   10
6 Placely Placington           5   1  1  3   80 134 −54    8
7 Queenisa                     5   1  0  4   69 136 −67    7

[Bollonich]

Clinching distance
Bollonich’s run in the Rugby 7s World Cup till now was tremendous with the team putting in multiple brilliant performances. First against Elejamie, the United States of Devonta, Suimede and the latest one against San Ortelio. San Ortelio were on 11 points before facing Bollonich. Bollonich meanwhile was on 10 points. A win would propel us to 13 points and the top of the table. The Bollonischians came onto the field motivated to win, they had to play well to get a good qualification status. San Ortelio however weren’t the easiest team. To beat, they had been putting in multiple good performances and had defeated Darmen last match day. However as soon as the Bollonschians took to the field the match’s result could be seen. Bollonich was going to dominate the game and this what they did. At the end the scoreline was 26-17. The manager after the match said that:-

Today we played really well, and it will be important to replicate the same performance against Darmen.

[TJUN-ia]

After 2nd-half struggles meant we fell to Hebitaka in our opening match, the Sevens Jaguars under Brutas Excillius had the 2nd round of fixtures off to try and strategise for the remaining games in this competition wisely. Everyone knew the ambitions of this team entering the tournament and to lose the first game was certainly a dent in that quest, but no one in the community refused to give up after one game played and so, with determination in the eyes of most in the team, the Jags went out there looking to prove they meant business in this sport.

Up first was 4th ranked Copper Cuprum, unbeaten at 2-0 heading into the final session on Friday, and the game we would produce with just 14 minutes of game time was certainly one for the ages. Vobeda Polema would begin the scoring for the Copperites (with a conversion by Banunu Honele) but that lead would only last 2 minutes as Kennedy Vakatawa (with the conversion by Jose Valbuena) would tie this game up at 7-7. Each team would see 1 more try before the break as well, with Satusa Heyedy and Derek van Oosteren the try-scorers before we could all sit down (with both Honele and Valbuena going 2/2 after 7). The second half would start like this as well, with Ismail Govore getting the try this time - but Captain Honele would actually see his conversion just fly away from where it should've gone. That was the advantage TJUN-ia needed and when Vakatawa and Valbuena combined again to put the Jags 2 points up, this one was practically over. The undefeated had been beaten and the Jags were 1-1 after Friday's play.

Saturday arrived with fresh optimism in the Seagull Cavern abound for this team, and what better way to start than the demolition of an unranked opponent? The unfortunate victims this time were 1-2 Placely Placington, the team of Test Subjects coached by The Same Different Coach Man Blokey Thing Person Man Thing Man Persony Person Blokely Blokington (which is certainly a mouthful to say). It was Test Subject #6 who would get PP's only try of the game with only a few seconds left in the contest, with the conversion completed by Subject #3. All you need to know about our scoring in this affair is this: Valbuena scored 3 tries, went 6/6 on conversions and even made a FG in garbage time. The other 3 tries were scored by Suke Hoshinawa (twice) and substitute Vittaly Rossi, capping off a brilliant performance all around by this team.

Up next on Saturday was the 39th-ranked Commonwealth of Baker Park, a big name in this universe already and an opponent you had to take seriously no matter the sport. This team was certainly good at an unbeaten 2-1-0 but with the run this TJUN-ian team was on, this lunchtime contest was going to go one way. This one started tightly enough in the first, with Chuck Seifferth and Carl Crorker both getting tries, but that would be as close as these 2 got over the whole game. Before you knew it Crorker had his 2nd, Vakatawa had his 1st and Beka Chkoidze had come off the bench to get one for himself as well. While Lucas Odekume went 2/2 with a conversion and a FG, Valbuena went 3/4 in a game where that stat didn't matter at all.

Another unranked ended Saturday play, but 3-1 Kriegiersien were certainly one to be taken seriously despite their lack of dress. This team sent both male and female squad to Forsho for this event, a great thing that many other nations (like ourselves) could learn from in the future. The game would be similar to the one we played against BP, but the lickers would be a lot less accurate than before. The points for our opposition came from Wolfgang Betracci (twice) and Glob (who's female) while Yukko Kiivraz Jr went 2/3 in conversions. As for us, Valbuena got one on his own and went only 4/6 in conversions while Hoshinawa and Roman Hevnostanivich (twice) both had something to bring to this game as well.

We entered Friday night at 0-1 and now, we will enter Sunday morning at 4-1 after a striking turnaround. Only victory over unranked, 1-4 Queenisa will see this team enter the Cup knockouts for the very first time and with momentum definitely on our side, the onus is one us not to choke this opportunity away. GO JAGS!

---

SCHEDULE (Group D, all matches at Seagull Cavern, Forsho, The Grearish Union)
FRIDAY
MD1: vs Hebitaka (22) L 14-28 (4th)
MD2: BYE (7th)
MD3: vs Copper Cuprum (4) W 21-19 (6th)

SATURDAY
MD4: vs Placely Placington (UR) W 45-7 (4th)
MD5: vs Commonwealth of Baker Park (39) W 26-10 (1st)
MD6: vs Kriegiersien (UR) W 31-19 (1st)

SUNDAY
MD7: vs Queenisa (UR)

[Kriegiersien]

The Roaring Rugby Rowdies

Your truthful source for All Rugby

6th Rugby Sevens World Cup

Kriegiersien 19–31 TJUN-ia


Even with Wolfgang Betracci (twice), Glob and again Yukko Kiivraz Jr scoring, the team lost the game against TJUN-ia and is now in a Win or die match against the best ranking team in the group, World Rank Number 4, Copper Cuprum, also known as “Small Abanhfleft”.

***


In the changing room before the match against Copper Cuprum. The coach gives a last big speech:

“Ok, guys and girls and everyone. These dudes from TJUN-ia have beaten us. We still have a chance. But again someone from Abanhfleft, however they disguise themselves, now tries to stop us. But we had it with being stopped from winning the title. We will fight. We will break them. No mercy. You know what you have to do? Glob?”

“I take their potato and smash it before they can slit its throat…. I mean, toss it around!”

“Very good. Barney?”

“I’ll get this Banunu Honele until he or she or it doesn’t know any more what sport we are playing.”

“Jutta?”

“I’ll paint my trousers white to confuse them.”

“Kara?”

“Silver bullets. They work against everything.”

“No, that is when we play Killer Ball in the Fantasy League. No weapons.”

“Awww. Then….garlic? I’ll have Garlic Mozzarella Bread.”

“ Yukko?”

“Scoring many points.”

“Good idea. And Alberz converts the kicks. We are done being made the fool. We will win!”

“WUHA!”

[Abanhfleft]

DISCLAIMER: Gaelic Gamers is an independent sports blogging website created by four cousins with a common liking and passion for sports of all kinds and is in no way or form affiliated with or organized by any official news organization in the Democratic Republic of Abanhfleft. All statements and opinions posted here are our own and not anyone else's.

---

Gaelic Gamers
Presents...

The Rugby Rundown (Sevens Edition!)
with Graham O'Doherty

6TH RUGBY SEVENS WORLD CUP: MATCH SIX

Hello guys, and welcome back to another edition of The Rugby Rundown Sevens Edition with me, your gay Irishman Graham O'Doherty. One more game left to play this Saturday, and then there's one more Sunday game to finish the pool stage. That final game for us is against Nova Anglicana and is sure to define the destiny of Pool B, but before we can even begin thinking about that, we've got the matter of Darkmania to deal with. Despite what the name says, I believe Darkmania are somewhat Nordic sounding. Then again, being that far north means you spend at least half the whole year in darkness, with the other half being in constant sunshine. Also, something about living in all that ice apparently makes having darker skin a vital adaptation. I don't know where I saw that but I do know that I saw it somewhere. But enough about random bits of general knowledge. It's time to get down for some rugger!

As has been the trend for Abanhfleft from the last couple of pool stage games, we got off to a great start. Some of the young 'uns who got a start against Udmar managed to keep their place for the game against Darkmania, like Olistan lad Kurt Pamintuan. Pamintuan started off playing gridiron as a center, the details of which my cousin Dara Keane would be more than happy to regale anyone with, but for the interests of my primary demographic, I'm going to stick as much as possible to rugby. Having said that, Pamintuan was enticed to take up rugby after he got passed over by college recruiters, with only a handful of Division III colleges giving him offers. I mean, compared to gridiron, the path to the pros is definitely easier when it comes to rugby. Nevertheless, it still wasn't that easy though; while Kurt may have made a name for himself with the San Seriffe Bad Hombres' reserves, it wasn't enough for the team to keep him, so Pamintuan made the jump to Releinthi and signed for the Almohads, three-time winners of the Fleftic Rugby Premiership. The Haddies haven't won the Premiership since Kurt joined though. Is that coincidence? Most probably. But that's never stopped sports conspiracy theorists from making the "connection" and trying to force something out of nothing.

Anyway, back to the rugger. Another new face who got his first start of the World Cup, Wendel Van Alphen, would end up being the bloke who would start off the scoring. The fullback from Arlkornd, Verbergerkinnh Province landed a couple of quickfire tries to become the third player in this Abanhfleft team to score multiple tries in the World Cup. You might think it weird for me to keep mentioning that so-and-so scored multiple tries, especially given that the fast pace of rugby sevens makes it conducive for multiple scorers to appear on the sheet, but you can say that it's a tic of mine. Helps me concentrate on things. And usually with rugby fifteens, multiple try scorers are a bit rarer. Anyway, Abanhfleft drew first blood, but Darkmania were quick to respond through Cäsper Langnavsen. Cäsper's got a namesake on the same team in the form of Sänder Längnavsen, but I don't want to make any assumptions just yet aside from the painfully obvious. Änders Dëls nailed the textbook wide angle conversion to knock our lead back to five points, but that was going to be as close as Darkmania was ever going to get. Things got a little bit sticky in the 5th minute, but once Kurt Pamintuan landed his first try of the game, things were over for our opponents. At least they fought as hard as they could, a very far cry from those who represented Udmar in this competition.

And now the stage has been set for the epic clash between Abanhfleft and Nova Anglicana for outright control of Pool B. As things stand, Abanhfleft lead the pool through points difference, but a loss against the Lions can literally turn things around. A draw might be just enough to see us hang on to the top, but of course as a fan I want to see us win. And winning against the Lions? Oh, boy! I'm getting excited just thinking about it. And it's still a few more hours before we can even play this game! I sincerely don't know the last time I've been excited for a single game of sevens. It's a strange feeling, but I think I like it. XOXO from Graham....

Abanhfleft (31)
Try: Van Alphen 2' c, 3' m
Pamintuan 6' m
Mahout 8' c
Schmoll 11' c
Con: Mahout (2/4)
Reid (1/1)

Darkmania (7)
Try: C. Langnavnsen 4' c
Con: Dëls (1/1)

[Elejamie]

Welcome back to the sixth Rugby Sevens World Cup here in The Grearish Union. Hope you've had a nice lunch, I certainly had. I may have had to rush it a bit during the breaks but that wasn't enough to stop me commentating on three great pool-stage games: Kriegiersien vs Queensia, Barunia vs Quebec and Shingoryeo, and Kriegiersien again vs Hebitaka. I don't know when you, the viewers at home, have your lunches but if you had it over the past hour then chances are you saw at least one of three great games.

And we wish to carry on that streak, ladies and gentlemen, with our first Pool C game of the afternoon. The Licentian Isles vs Elejamie. Not much history between the, er... the two teams. Elejamie currently sitting not so pretty in fourth place with two wins against Devonta and Darmen and a sole surprising loss to Bollonich, whereas the Licentian Isles are a place above with a 2-0-2 record. Two wins, two losses. A team that has won a number of Cups and has a 100% Plate record versus a team with a bit of history but a massive appearance drought. Despite this, the away side are the current favourites to win this match but the home side should have what it takes to pull off an upset. Should be a fun one regardless.

...

Now here we are, here's both sides running out onto the pitch here at the interestingly named Seagull Cavern here in Forsho. Lovely weather for it too, a sunny 18° or about 64° Fahrenheit for those who still use that. The Licentian Isles on the left and they appear to not have made a single change from their last match against Bollonich. Elejamie, meanwhile, are on the right side and they've gone back to the standard line-up they had, the same one from their opener against Darmen: Ruiz-Kroger-Molina up front, Kramer-Toda-Koppel-McCracken out the back. Both captains fist-bumping each other as the coin's flipped. Referee's Hajime Bokuto from Hebitaka, by the way. Heads and that means The Licentian Isles are to kick-off first. Should be an interesting match.

---

0:00 - Whistle's blown and we're underway! Amber Crawford gives the ball a good kick as it's eventually caught by Molina, who begins the Elejamian attack...

~2:00 - ... Toda to kick from 29m out. A short distance but he's got a bit of an angle to work with to balance it out. He's eyeing it and internalising it. Is he ready? He looks like he is. He gives it a good kick. It's sailing. And it is through. Licentian Isles 0, Elejamie 3. A splendid penalty from Gary Toda there to kick things off here, no pun intended.

~4:00 - ... Crawford. Now Crawford over to Hooft. Hooft is tackled, Crawford recovers and passes it to Hamilton. Hamilton advances. Passes it over to Miller. Miller's brought down inside the 22 by Molina. There's a bit of a struggle going on but Hamilton wins it and passes it over to Crawford. She's making a break for it. Offloads it to Hamilton. Hamilton runs past the line. He runs closer to the posts. And he grounds it before Ruiz and Kroger could get close to him. Spectacular try there from the Licentian winger. Licentian Isles 5, Elejamie 3. The home side now has the lead as we lead into the conversion.

...

Crawford to convert now. She's 33m out and she has a good angle. Not much effort or energy needed. Just a simply eyeing and then a kick. She's kicked. And it's through. Licentian Isles 7, Elejamie 3. And the home side has now entended their lead.

~6:00 - ... Crawford. Crawford passes it to Hamilton. Hamilton goes down but what's this? Molina's won the ball and now begins the Elejamian counter-attack. Up to Kramer. Kramer makes it past the half-way mark before he's brought down. Toda recovers, passes it to Koppel. Koppel advances down the pitch. Over to McCracken. Back over to Toda. Then Koppel. Over to Kramer. Kramer to Toda. Toda gets tackled, Kramer recovers and passes it to McCracken. Over to Koppel. Koppel's in the 22! He's nearly at the line. Offload it to Kramer. Kramer dashes past the line. He throws himself onto the ground and scores a try. Licentian Isles 7, Elejamie 8. And the away side has regained their lead.

...

Toda to convert from 33m out. Not the best angle but he could make it work. He's eyeing the target and he's taking deep breaths. He's ready to kick. He kicks it. It's up there and it's through. Licentian Isles 7, Elejamie 10. There's a bit of breathing room now, even if they're not out of the woods yet.

<7:00 - Coming up to the seven minute mark now. Amber Crawford passes it up the wing, over to her captain Noel Deelstra. Deelstra goes down and gets tackled by Riley Kroger. A mad scramble for the ball with Molina and Grant trying to grab it. And the 23-year-old Licentian prop is the victor. Passes it over to Miller. Back over to Craw- Wait! She's dropped it, everyone's trying to grab it but it rolls into touch.

And, with that, Bokuto blows his whistle meaning that we've reached half-time. The score at the minute's Licentian Isles 7, Elejamie 10. The away side just narrowly ahead there thanks to a converted try from and a penalty from Toda. Anything could happen in the second half and, as the players take their break, so will we. Don't go anywhere.

---

7:00 - And we're back for the second half. Toda lines up his kick and gives it an almighty boot to start off this second half. It's sailing through the air and it lands safely in the hands of Dan Hill. He passes it over to his captain to begin the Licentian offence...

~8:00 - ... Koppel. Koppel over to McCracken. McCracken dodges his way past Hill before he's taken down by Grant. Kramer recovers and passes it to Koppel. Koppel barrels his way up the pitch before a nice long pass to Gary Toda. Toda advances down the pitch. Passes it to Kramer. Kramer's inside the 22. Over to Toda, who passes it to McCracken. McCracken's just at the line before he gets brought down. Toda recovers and passes it to Kramer. He's pushing with all his might but the Licentian defence is having none of it! Something's going to give eventually. It's Kramer as he too is brought down. Koppel recovers, McCracken has the ball. He pushes his way past Miller, he's down on the ground and so is that ball! Licentian Isles 7, Elejamie 15. A hard-fought try from the away side there but they need this conversion from Toda to make it count.

...

Toda to convert from 34m out. A slight angle but nothing unreasonable. He's internalised his game plan in his head and he's ready for the kick. He unleashes an almighty boot and it sails through the air? Is it going to make it? Yes it is! Licentian Isles 7, Elejamie 17. And it seems like a gap's starting to form and one side's starting to breathe a bit easier.

~10:00 - ... Toda. Toda makes his way up the pitch. Passes it to McCracken. Over to Koppel. Back to McCracken. Back again to Koppel. A bit of a one-two thing going on here between the two. Koppel then goes down after a tackle from Deelstra. Toda recovers and passes it to Kramer. Kramer makes his way up the pitch. Passes it to Koppel. Koppel makes a bee-line down the pitch. Offloads it to Toda just before he gets tackled again and Gary Toda just dives right over the line for a try. Licentian Isles 7, Elejamie 22. And it's starting to look out of sight for one team.

...

Toda to convert his own try from 36m out. The downside is that it's quite a distance, the upside is that it's right in front of the posts. No need to deliberate or anything like that, just kick. And that's what he's done and that's it through. Licentian Isles 7, Elejamie 24. And the home side are starting to look a bit down and out.

~13:00 - Koppel receives the ball after that kick from Crawford and begins his side's counter-attack. Heads down the pitch. Dodges a tackle from Hill, dodges another one from Deelstra. Passes it over to Toda. Toda goes down, Kramer retrieves. Over now to McCracken. McCracken barrels down the pitch. Passes it back down to Koppel. Koppel offloads it to McCracken. He just narrowly misses a tackle from Grant! He's in the 22 now. He's unopposed. Is he going to make it? He's past the line. And he's just stopped. Wait, I take that back, he grounds the ball as Crawford and Hooft enter their own 22. Licentian Isles 7, Elejamie 29. I don't think the Licentians will be able to come back from this unless several things go their way.

...

Toda to convert from 33m out. Again, right in front of the posts too so this should be an easy one. He shrugs his shoulders and just kicks it. It's up and it's through. Licentian Isles 7, Elejamie 31. That's probably it now, the home side can only play for pride now.

<14:00 - Crawford. Crawford up now over to Grant. Passes it back to Crawford. Over to Miller. Miller goes down and Hamilton recovers. Passes it to Hooft. Hooft passes it back to Hamilton. Hamilton over to- Wait! Marcus Ruiz intercepts! He passes it over to Kroger. Kroger over to Molina. Molina gets tackled and there's a scramble for the ball. It's also past the 14 minute mark so next time the ball goes out of play the match will end. Kroger recovers and passes to Kramer. Is he going to advance? No, he's going to kick it into the stands.

And with that, it's full time. Your final score, ladies and gentlemen, is The Licentian Isles 7, Elejamie 31. The Licentians put up a valiant effort but it wasn't enough to worry the 2nd best ranked side in the multiverse. As a result, Elejamie now move up to third place, right behind Darmen and the undefeated San Ortelio, whereas the Licentian Isles slip down to fifth place. Celebrations for one side, consolations for the other. That won't be the last time these two will play today, as Elejamie will take on winless Suimede while the Licentians will try and avenge their defeat as they play Devonta, who also remain without a win. Should be a fun series of games but join after a quick commercial break for Pratapgadh vs Sannyamathland, it should also be a fun one. We'll be here with the Rugby Sevens World Cup all day.

[Nova Anglicana]

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8
Part 9
Part 10
Part 11
Part 12
Part 13
Part 14
Part 15
Part 16
Part 17
Part 18
Part 19
Part 20
Part 21
Part 22
Part 23
Part 24
Part 25
Part 26
Part 27
Part 28
Part 29
Part 30

Clark tries to regroup, lay out agenda for PJP ahead of fall session

John McAvoy, Political Columnist, Londinium Courier

Samantha Speer's jump to the previously unrepresented Equality party took the political world by storm earlier this week for a number of reasons. First of all, floor-crossing is unprecedented in Nova Anglican history, especially to a minor party. Second, Speer's departure immediately blew a hole in new PJP leader Josephine Clark's call for party unity, just when she might have needed it the most. And thirdly, the splitting of a party after losing a leadership contest puts everyone in mind of King Voss' founding of the new National Party and how quickly the far-right has risen to influence in this country. Can Speer and Equality replicate that meteoric rise? Might the rise of the left presage an era of political polarisation, of bitter conflict in a country that was seemingly known for its amiable, easygoing, moderate style of politics?

Of course, this fabled unity or comity in Nova Anglican politics is likely the result of having a uniformly left-leaning government for the first almost two decades after independence, which tends to paper over differences and make things appear calmer than they really are. But Josephine Clark has an answer to the second question I posed above. She says that "now is the time for unity" in the face of the incumbent right-leaning government's plans.

"It takes all of us, wherever we fall on the ideological spectrum, from left to right, to stand up and oppose the reckless course of action already taken by the government that they plan to continue. I've always felt that investment in education, healthcare, and infrastructure are the 'holy trinity', pardon the phrase, of Nova Anglican politics. When we invest in these areas, we promote human growth as well as economic growth, and our progressive tax system and these investments make sure we have equitable growth, not a few well-connected rich people siphoning off the benefits for themselves."

Clark went on to address foreign policy as well, her sweet spot. She discussed the need for international co-operation in the face of climate change, a rejection of the "go-it-alone" style of foreign policy she says the government is practising, and her desire to expand markets for Nova Anglican goods and services by looking to Esportiva. "There's a whole world out there, and if all we think about when we consider Esportiva is football and immigrants, we're missing out on the cornucopia of possibilities that the region offers."

Whether this will unite the opposition is unclear, but the party faithful seem to be behind her. A recent poll taken shows that 84% of self-identified PJP members approve of her job performance so far, and 73% say that the party made the right choice in selecting her as leader. "Let's go with Jo" signs have been popping up more after the leadership election than even before. Of course, this is likely colored by the fact that Speer supporters may not have identified themselves as PJP members, and indeed, Equality membership is up 50% in the last week. However, Equality remains a small party, and the PJP have typically favored moderates in temperament even if not in policy. In some ways, Clark represents almost the exact centre of the party; Allen Mumford, the first leader, was easily identifiable with the Christian left faction, while his successor Hal Blackwood was more of a centrist, a couple of steps to the right of Mumford. With Clark, the party has taken a small step back towards the left as she is most often lumped into the "social liberal" category (this is on economics, rights, and freedoms, not on social/cultural issues). This position in the centre of the party means she can effectively advocate ideas from vantagepoints to the left and right of her in ways that are acceptable to all members, a not inconsiderable strength.

In my last article, I failed to address another leadership election candidate, Graham Hatten. Hatten was most definitely the furthest left of the candidates on stage, calling for a wealth tax and a universal basic income program as the two centrepieces of his campaign. But he refused to join Speer in the jump to Equality. According to sources, Speer did not approach Hatten with the idea of leaving the party initially, perhaps rightly fearing that his leftist credentials might overshadow hers. He did find out about it, eventually, and they had a row about why he wasn't involved a few months before the leadership election. Some sources even speculate that the very reason he got into the leadership election (remember, he filed hours before the cutoff time) was to spoil Speer's chances. Although he's on the left end of the party, Hatten grew up in a politically-involved family that supported the PJP since its founding. He worked for them later in life before becoming a Deputy, and his sense of loyalty is too far ingrained for him to contemplate something like that. Meanwhile, other sources say he's convinced that Speer's ego will sink the whole project and that that's why he didn't join. Whatever the reason, Hatten is staying within the party, even though Clark is far more moderate than he'd like from a party leader.

When asked for comment about it, Prime Minister Michael Ramsey was more than willing to talk. "This whole business simply shows that there is no 'moderate' opposition to our government. It's all either personality-driven squabbling or far-left infiltration. I am concerned at the platform we are giving their views in Parliament, but I'm confident that the Nova Anglican people will see that our government provides far more moderation, stability, and prosperity than Plato's chariot over there." Presumably Speer is the irrational horse in this metaphor, though who the rational horse or the driver are is unclear. In any case, he's got to be pleased as punch at the divisions within the opposition, especially with an ambitious welfare reform bill coming down the pipe in the fall session.

Time will tell as to how effective a leader Clark will be or whether Speer will prove to be a thorn in her side or the driving force of a leftist electoral awakening in this country, but for the meantime, this fall's session of Parliament looks to be a dandy from a media perspective.

Darkmania 5-31 Nova Anglicana

Darkmania Try Scorers - Sänder Längnavnsen (conversion missed)
Nova Anglicana Try Scorers - Tremblay (Bolden conversion), Tremblay (Bolden conversion), McCracken (conversion missed), Bolden (Bolden conversion), Gorman (conversion missed)

[The Grearish Union]

Matchday 7

Round 7, Sunday
Overcast, 16°C at Seagull Cavern, Forsho

---

Pool A
Shreekaristan 0–36 Quebec and Shingoryeo
Sevendia 5–38 Barunia
Lisander 33–17 Grearish Union

  Pool A                     Pld   W  D  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Lisander                     6   6  0  0  215  60 +155  18    Cup
2 Barunia                      6   4  0  2  150 107 +43   14    Cup
3 Hannasean Federation         6   3  1  2  140 111 +29   13  Plate
4 Quebec and Shingoryeo        6   3  0  3  133 128  +5   12  Plate
5 Sevendia                     6   2  1  3   89 145 −56   11   Bowl
6 Grearish Union               6   2  0  4  121 159 −38   10   Bowl
7 Shreekaristan                6   0  0  6   59 197 −138   6

Pool B
Udmar 5–31 Alice Bay
Darkmania 49–7 Sannyamathland
Nova Anglicana 7–29 Abanhfleft

  Pool B                     Pld   W  D  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Abanhfleft                   6   6  0  0  201  45 +156  18    Cup
2 Nova Anglicana               6   5  0  1  159  65 +94   16    Cup
3 Pratapgadh                   6   3  0  3  147 102 +45   12  Plate
4 Darkmania                    6   3  0  3  141 117 +24   12  Plate
5 Alice Bay                    6   3  0  3  110 130 −20   12   Bowl
6 Sannyamathland               6   1  0  5   79 165 −86    8   Bowl
7 Udmar                        6   0  0  6   24 237 −213   6

Pool C
Suimede 12–22 United States of Devonta
San Ortelio 10–28 Elejamie
Darmen 36–12 Bollonich

  Pool C                     Pld   W  D  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 Elejamie                     6   5  0  1  166  64 +102  16    Cup
2 Darmen                       6   4  0  2  176  93 +83   14    Cup
3 Bollonich                    6   4  0  2  123 114  +9   14  Plate
4 San Ortelio                  6   3  1  2  139 121 +18   13  Plate
5 The Licentian Isles          6   3  0  3  101 130 −29   12   Bowl
6 United States of Devonta     6   1  1  4   82 163 −81    9   Bowl
7 Suimede                      6   0  0  6   66 168 −102   6

Pool D
TJUN-ia 38–0 Queenisa
Copper Cuprum 19–21 Kriegiersien
Placely Placington 0–42 Commonwealth of Baker Park

  Pool D                     Pld   W  D  L   PF  PA  PD  Pts 
1 TJUN-ia                      6   5  0  1  175  83 +92   16    Cup
2 Kriegiersien                 6   4  0  2  138 116 +22   14    Cup
3 Copper Cuprum                6   3  1  2  149  96 +53   13  Plate
4 Commonwealth of Baker Park   6   3  1  2  154 104 +50   13  Plate
5 Hebitaka                     6   2  1  3  119 135 −16   11   Bowl
6 Placely Placington           6   1  1  4   80 176 −96    9   Bowl
7 Queenisa                     6   1  0  5   69 174 −105   8

---

Note: The draw for the quarter-finals will be edited in here in some time. There is no scorination scheduled this time tomorrow.
Edit:

Schedule for Sunday's Quarterfinal Proceedings

Bowl Quarterfinals
12:39 QF-B1 Sevendia v Sannyamathland
13:01 QF-B2 Alice Bay v Placely Placington
13:23 QF-B3 The Licentian Isles v The Grearish Union
13:45 QF-B4 Hebitaka v The United States of Devonta
Plate Quarterfinals
14:07 QF-P1 Hannasean Federation v Commonwealth of Baker Park
14:29 QF-P2 Pratapgadh v San Ortelio
14:51 QF-P3 Bollonich v Darkmania
15:13 QF-P4 Copper Cuprum v Quebec & Shingoryeo
Cup Quarterfinals
15:35 QF-C1 Lisander v Kriegiersien
15:57 QF-C2 Abanhfleft v Darmen
16:19 QF-C3 Elejamie v Barunia
16:41 QF-C4 TJUN-ia v Nova Anglicana

Draw procedure:

• Group runners-up were drawn against group winners in a random draw for the Cup quarter-finals. Group rematches were not allowed.
• Group 4ths were drawn against group 3rds in a random draw for the Plate quarter-finals. Group rematches were not allowed.
• Group 6ths were drawn against group 5ths in a random draw for the Bowl quarter-finals. Group rematches were not allowed.
• 7th placed teams were eliminated.

Weather forecast:

• Drizzles, 15°C with a strong sea breeze.

[Bollonich]

Plate qualification sealed
It was Bollonich’s last group stage match, we were up against Darmen the 9th ranked team. A win would be necessary to qualify for the Cup. However the result was far from a win. Bollonich had been defeated 36 -12 pushing Bollonich’s position down to 3rd. Bollonich’s points were equal to Darmen’s however it is the goal difference that made the difference. It was the defeat against The Licentian Isles which eventually made the difference in Bollonich’s chances for qualification in the Cup. Bollonich however finishing third and did qualify for the Plate. Our opponent is Darkmania an unranked team so the chances of further qualification is high. However it is important that the Bollonschian players perform at their best and are able to deliver a solid performance.
In the words of the coach

Today’s loss was obviously shattering, we wanted to qualify for the Cup, but we have a shot at the Plate which we need to give our all in. It is imperative that we win the Plate quarterfinal, so we contest for the trophy.

[Kriegiersien]

The Roaring Rugby Rowdies

Your truthful source for All Rugby

6th Rugby Sevens World Cup

Copper Cuprum 19–21 Kriegiersien

It is done! In the last second Kara Kent became the big hero of her family, the team and the whole nation. Turning the match with her try and beating the favoured after a brutal brawl. The team gnawed their way back after an early deficit, never gave up and worked their way to the match like an icebreaker, finally succeding.

And now they are in the quarter-final of the Cup. Lisander, the number one, is standing in the way. A team that hasn’t convinced with good games yet, but with simple wins.




++++

Cabin fever


In the changing room before the match against Lisander. Glob is chewing a potato. The coach has a big sheet of paper in his hand.

“Do you see this?”

The players are looking at each other, confused. Some are just nodding.

“This is Lisander.”

He unfolds the giant white paper.

“But look. It is empty. Nothing on it. It is big but…”

He rips it into pieces.

“Nothing. Much talk about it, but nothing behind it. Who deserves to be in the semis?”

As nobody reacts he goes on.

“WE! You have just beaten Copper Cuprum. Now, we...you will destroy Lisander. On our way to the title! Huha!”

“Huha!”


On the way out into the rain Charlene nudged Dora, grinning.

“Do you think he will make a big Pep Talk before every game now?”

“I hope not.”

[TJUN-ia]

After 4 straight wins catapulted this team to the group lead, the Jaguars of TJUN-ia could almost taste their first-ever Cup playoffs at their 2nd World Cup. This team has come leaps and bounds ever since our first ever game a few years and everyone knew they could become a force in future, but they actually had to qualify for the Cup knockouts first before talk of the future could continue. The final hurdle would be unranked, 1-4 Queenisa where only victory could secure us a spot in the big time.

As it would turn out, this contest was to be no issue at all. Sure, our opponent had won their first game last night, but they would be no match for our power here on Sunday morning. Five tries would be scored with no response from the opponents at all - a rare shutout in the history of TJUN-ian rugby. The first half would see three of those tries, two of which came from Jose Valbuena and another came through Dan McCrawley. Kennedy Vakatawa and Frederico Giabueno would get the tries in the 2nd while Valbuena got a FG to add to the 5 conversions he made during this contest. It really wasn't close as TJUN-ia booked their first-ever trip to the playoffs as the Group D winners.

This run has been beautiful since Friday night and now, we get more rugby to play as well! Our first Quarterfinals will be up against Nova Anglicana, the 10th ranked team in the world and runners up in Group B with only 1 loss so far (like us). Someone has to lose and in a competition this tense, no one knows what to expect...GO JAGS!

---

SCHEDULE (Group D, all matches at Seagull Cavern, Forsho, The Grearish Union)
FRIDAY
MD1: vs Hebitaka (22) L 14-28 (4th)
MD2: BYE (7th)
MD3: vs Copper Cuprum (4) W 21-19 (6th)

SATURDAY
MD4: vs Placely Placington (UR) W 45-7 (4th)
MD5: vs Commonwealth of Baker Park (39) W 26-10 (1st)
MD6: vs Kriegiersien (UR) W 31-19 (1st)

SUNDAY
MD7: vs Queenisa (UR) W 31-19 (1st/5W-0D-1L/16pts/+92PD)
CQF: vs Nova Anglicana (10)

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

Ricky Gillingham: "Welcome to Sunday afternoon from Forsho, the final day of the Rugby Sevens World Cup and here with a very hungover Zane Anthoiny, I'm Ricky Gillingham and this is Lots of Ruck. We're getting ready to head over for the elimination matches. Baker Park qualified for the Plate classification round after a dominating win over Zane's favorite side, the Place Holders. Or whatever they are called."

Zane Anthony: "When was that? I wanted to see them in person."

RG: "You went a bit too crazy last night when our new friend Graham O'Doherty took us out for beers. Sorry."

ZA: "So where does that put us going into the afternoon?"
RG: "We'll be facing off against the Hannaseans in the first Plate match. It would be a really great achievement if we could get to the semis or the final in our first time at the World Cup. I like our chances based on what we saw of them yesterday."

ZA: "We've played some really good rugby here, even in the losses."
RG: "The stats say we're the 7th highest scoring team so far, and I think we agreed that defensively there's been a big improvement since e AVBF."
th
ZA: "The big picture?"
RG: "I reckon the Flefts or Lisander, Elejamie. I don't think Pool D ended up being as difficult as the draw suggested."

ZA: "That's pretty much true.